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forget

I have lots of friends who are good at planning. They think through a journey, a project or responsibility with focused attention for:

needed resources,

timelines,

possible hazards,

preparing for the unexpected, as best as they can

Me, not so much. And that’s one of my shortfalls. If I told you of all the times when I’ve forgotten things (makeup, clothes, money, etc), shown up at the wrong time, been unprepared or shocked, maybe you’d smirk with a playful laugh. And hopefully you wouldn’t shame me with the normal, “You should know better, Sarah” because I already do that to myself enough 🙂

No matter if you’re a planner or prefer a more “spontaneous” approach, let’s be certain to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our steps and navigate the various destinations and outcomes. If you’re a planner, be careful that you don’t try to stay in control of the journey with the Holy Spirit. If you’re the spontaneous type, be sure to listen to the Holy Spirit for those gentle nudges / reminders about bringing stuff & keeping appointments 🙂

Sometimes we think that forgetting something is bad, but sometimes being forgetful is good. It’s bad to forget the grocery list when I go shopping and it’s bad to forget my driver’s license when I try to catch a flight to another city. But it’s good to forget a rude comment that someone said to you or forget a hurtful thing that happened in the past. Indeed, sometimes it’s a divine gift to forget some things or to remember things in a selective way.

I can chose to remember the positive things from experiences and conversations, while letting the negative stuff fade into the background. Or I can chose to keep rehearsing the negative stuff from past conversations or experiences and let them overshadow the good stuff.

Seems like Paul had some good wisdom when he said in Philippians 3:13, “Forgetting what lies behind, I press forward for what lies ahead, . . . “

Ever struggle to remember stuff? All of us can likely recall something important we’ve forgotten: maybe you’ve forgotten to collect a kid from school or you missed an important appointment. One of the symptoms of having a concussion is some shortfalls with memory. This is a polite way to say that I keep forgetting stuff since getting a concussion recently from a snowboarding accident. Thankfully, people are generally understanding, but it’s definitely frustrating to me. But alas, there are also some advantages to being forgetful. Consider some of the things below:

God helped Joseph forget the troubles from the past – Gen 41:51

We have permission to forget the things behind us & press forward – Phil 3:13

The Holy Spirit helps us to remember what Jesus says (John 14:26) & I’m praying that the Holy Spirit helps me remember lots more as well!